Meeting between Jonathan Coleman and General Fan Changlong

Joint statement on the meeting between Minister of Defence,
Jonathan Coleman and Vice Chairman of the Central Military
Commission of the People’s Republic of China, General Fan
Changlong

At the invitation of the New Zealand
Minister of Defence, the Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman, Vice
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the
People’s Republic of China, General Fan Changlong, visited
New Zealand from 19 to 22 July, 2014. On 21 July, General
Fan met with New Zealand Prime Minister, the Rt Hon John
Key, and held formal talks with Minister Coleman. The two
sides discussed enhancing the bilateral defence
relationship, current regional security issues, and other
matters of common interest.

General Fan was
accompanied by senior officers from the Chinese People’s
Liberation Army (PLA), including the Deputy Chief of the
General Staff of the PLA, Lieutenant General Wang Ning, the
Political Commissar of the PLA Navy, Admiral Liu Xiaojiang,
the Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, General Xu
Fenlin, and the Deputy Commander of Guangzhou Military
Region and Commander of Guangzhou Regional Air Force,
Lieutenant General Xu Anxiang. He was also accompanied by
China’s Ambassador to New Zealand, HE Mr Wang Lutong.

Both sides recalled the steady development of the
defence relationship over recent years and the positive
advances made in terms of regular high-level visits,
strategic dialogue, and educational exchanges. Both sides
agreed that defence ties between New Zealand and China were
an important component in the comprehensive, cooperative and
mutually beneficial bilateral relationship.

The two sides agreed to a mechanism
for conducting humanitarian and disaster relief exercises.
The PLA invited the New Zealand Defence Force to participate
in the “Cooperation Spirit 2014” joint humanitarian and
disaster relief exercise involving military personnel from
China, New Zealand, Australia and the United States, being
held in China later this year.

The two sides
considered that maritime security is of vital importance to
all countries in this region and discussed ways to further
regional cooperation.

The two sides agreed to
enhance cooperation on peacekeeping. The two sides also
agreed to enhance defence cooperation on South Pacific
affairs, in particular in humanitarian assistance and
disaster relief.

During his visit to New Zealand,
General Fan also met with New Zealand Chief of Defence
Force, Lieutenant General Tim Keating, and Acting Secretary
of Defence, Mr Tony Lynch, and visited Joint Forces
Headquarters and RNZAF Base
Auckland.

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